SOLUTION: Two railroad workers were working together in a 1.2 Km mountain tunnel when a signal light flashed indicating the approach of a train, which was traveling at 60 Km/hr. Walking east

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Question 349731: Two railroad workers were working together in a 1.2 Km mountain tunnel when a signal light flashed indicating the approach of a train, which was traveling at 60 Km/hr. Walking east, one worker reached the east end of the tunnel in 6 minutes, as the train entered the tunnle. The other worker reached the west end of the tunnel in 6 minutes and was passed by the train .24 Km beyond the west end of the tunnel. At what rate did each worker walk?
Answer by ankor@dixie-net.com(22740) (Show Source):
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Two railroad workers were working together in a 1.2 Km mountain tunnel when a
signal light flashed indicating the approach of a train, which was traveling at 60 Km/hr.
Walking east, one worker reached the east end of the tunnel in 6 minutes, as the
train entered the tunnel.
The other worker reached the west end of the tunnel in 6 minutes and was passed
by the train .24 Km beyond the west end of the tunnel.
At what rate did each worker walk?
:
Let w = the speed of the westbound worker
:
After 6 min the worker was at the west end of the tunnel, and the train was
entering the east end of the tunnel, therefore
train traveled 1.2 + .24 = 1.44 km while the worker traveled .24 km
A ratio equation
=
1.44w = 60 * .24
1.44w = 14.4
w =
w = 10 km/hr (the worker was running for his life, not walking)
;
Find the traveling speed of the eastbound worker (e)
6 min = .1 hrs
Find the point in the tunnel they were originally.
:
In 6 min w covered a distance of 10 * .1 = 1 km to the west end.
therefore the other worker's (e) only had to walk 1.2 - 1 = .2 km
His speed:
e = = 2 km/hr, he really was walking